THE Province of Pampanga together with the Department of Health started the vaccination against the coronavirus of children aged five to 11 years old at Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH) on Wednesday, February 9, 2022.
Mostly children of healthcare workers in the province were jabbed at JBLMGH, which featured colorful balloons, hotdogs and popcorn, and a magic show to prevent or at least minimize the fear and anxiety of young children who would undergo vaccination.
Governor Dennis "Delta" Pineda, who attented the Resbakuna Kids campaign, said holding the vaccination drive launch with a birthday party theme was conceptualized to allay the children's fear of jabs.
“Isang paraan lamang ito para mahikayat ang mga bata na magpabakuna kontra Covid-19 bilang paghahanda sa posibleng pagsisimula ng 'face-to-face classes' sa lalawigan," he said.
(This is one way to attract the children to get vaccinated against Covid-19 in preparation for the possible start of face-to-face classes in the province.)
Pineda was joined with National Task Force Against Covid-19 Deputy Chief Implementer Secretary Vince Dizon, JBLMGH Director Monseratt Chichioco, City of San Fernando Mayor Edwin Santiago, officials from the DOH, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Zenon Ponce, and Provincial Pediatrics Consultant Dr. Paul Baltazar.
Pineda also lauded the parents who brought their children for vaccination, saying that he will do the same to his grandchildren.
“To the parents who are here, I salute you because you are thinking of the welfare of your children, the protection of your children. As a parent like you, as a grandfather, I will also let my grandchildren be vaccinated. I will show to the province that I trust the national government. I am not afraid of this vaccination for my loved ones because we must give protection to all the children,” he said.
For his part, Dizon encouraged parents not to be reluctant in getting their children jabbed as vaccines are proven safe and effective.
“The protection of the vaccines will give us comfort as parents to protect our kids so that they can go back to school, they can go back to play outside, and they can go back to join their families going out,” he said.
A reformulated dose of Pfizer vaccine that has a lower dosage and lower concentration than those given to other age groups is being used for the inoculation. Pfizer is the only shot that has received emergency use approval for kids aged five to 11 from the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration.
Dizon also said the vaccination rollout for the pediatric population under the said age group is also a way of easing the reopening of face-to-face classes, and having the children to live normally.
“People have really suffered so much because imagine, it’s been two years already and they cannot go out... We have reached the point that finally, we will be able to give protection to our kids. It is really frightening for parents, especially that in the recent Omicron surge, it is the children who are getting hospitalized,” he added.
The official urged parents to convince other parents or guardians to get their children vaccinated so that they can go to school and enjoy the life that they deserve.
Meanwhile, Chichioco said the vaccination drive against Covid-19 will guarantee the protection of children given that they are vulnerable to getting the disease.
“We are expecting that through this kind of program from the government, we will be able to protect all of our population from five years old and above. For tomorrow we will have the National Vaccination Days for all age groups five years old and above. This is our campaign so that the Filipinos will achieve herd immunity and we will go back to normal,” she stated.
The regional hospital is eyeing to vaccinate about 200 children for the launch, but it is also accepting walk-ins on the vaccination site.
The provincial government is preparing for the launching of a mass vaccination program for children belonging to the said age group.
A total of 317,095 children aged five to 11 in this province are targeted to be vaccinated against Covid-19. (With reports from PIA and PNA)